Tagged: Captain America

Marvel’s Maisel Discusses Film Franchises

  • News
  • October 23, 2008

David Maisel, Executive Vice President, Office of the Chief Executive, and Chairman of Marvel Studios spoke to investors last weekend and IESB has a complete transcript up for those interested.

Highlights of the talk, though, indicate that Marvel is working hard to maximize their film franchises without blowing the budget on any single film and prefer controlling the films since that gives them the latitude to maximize scheduling.

Investors questioned if Spider-Man 4, were it to come out in 2010, would complicate Iron Man 2 and Thor?  Maisel said, “It would be a nice situation to have, I think there’s room enough for all three and we’d work that out. But it would absolutely be a nice situation to have for Marvel’s fiscal results that year.” On the other hand, Sony has announced Spidey 4 as coming in 2011.

“This is one of the reasons we did our own studio,” Maisel explained to the room full of non-fans, “because not only, well, three reasons. One, we’ve got, now, the economic upside to the movies, we have 100% the economic upside from Iron Man and from the merchandise of Iron Man, whereas before we only got the small license fee and we had to share merchandising. The second reason is, we can control our destiny, we can announce, ‘hey, Iron Man 2 is this date and we’re making this movie and we’re making Thor and we’re making Avengers and Captain America.’ Sony controls that with Spider-Man and so I can’t comment on when the movies come out beyond what they’ve said. I guess all I can say is that Spider-man films have done so well, that it would be, I would assume, unlikely that we wouldn’t see a steady stream more of Spider-Man films going forward. The exact timing and year is up for them to announce.” (more…)

Review: ‘Incredible Hulk’ DVD

025195039918-z-incrdcrfu-21-2312374Ang Lee’s [[[Hulk]]] film failed because he spent too much time on the Jekyll/Hyde aspects, the very ones that inspired Stan Lee.  After all these years, people wanted to see the Hulk leap and smash things.  When he leapt, we cheered, but there just wasn’t enough of it.

Director Louis Leterrier achieved a far better balance in this year’s [[[Incredible Hulk]]] which builds on the mythos while firmly settling into the new Marvel Cinema Universe. He wisely covers the obligatory origin materials during the title sequence and then gives us a story.

Unfortunately, the story just wasn’t as gripping as we had hoped.  The film, arriving Tuesday on DVD, is largely the Army hunting the Hulk as Bruce Banner searches for a cure.  While that worked fine in the 12-page [[[Tales to Astonish]]] stories, it’s not nearly enough for a feature film.  The biggest problem with Zak Snyder’s story is that the Super Soldier formula that is now linked to the Hulk and the Abomination is clearly able to turn people into weapons of mass destruction and all the military sees is a weapon.  Not a single person in uniform saw it as anything else and frankly, we’ve seen this theme before and done better elsewhere.

The notion that Emil Blonsky is a soldier towards the end of his career, with nothing to lose, and therefore more than willing to become the Abomination is a nice way to integrate the character from the comics to the film.  But, he’s as single-minded as everyone else in the story, which is a shame.

Penn’s script lifts the Mr. Blue character from Bruce Jones’ celebrated run on the title but reveals him to be Dr. Samuel Sterns, and frankly, I just didn’t buy their connection or the way Sterns suddenly switches from dedicated scientist to Colin Clive in [[[Frankenstein]]]. The fact that in the comics Stearns evolves into the Leader complete with big green head means he’s around should the movie franchise continue so hopefully he’ll be rounded out.

As presented, Leterrier’s film is pretty much A to B to C with pauses for Hulking out and destroying things until the climactic fight in Harlem.  I’ve certainly seen worse, but had hoped for something better considering [[[Iron Man]]], released just weeks prior, showed that serious issues could be addressed through fantastic means.
 

(more…)

Captain America Hulks Out

  • News
  • October 13, 2008

A while back, The Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier claimed that a scene was shot in which Bruce Banner travels in the arctic. In the scene, the filmmaker hid one heck of a red, white and blue easter egg: Captain America buried beneath the ice, shield and all. The film’s producer Gale Anne Hurd later denied the claim, saying that "Captain America was not visible in that scene."

Welp, time to call bull puckey on that line of defense. Film School Rejects got their mittens on a copy of the Incredible Hulk DVD (available on October 21 and one we’ll be reviewing here soon) and watched the scene in question. Sure enough, Steve Rogers himself is indeed in the film, though you might need a magnifying glass and a few stiff drinks to catch the cameo.

Towards the end of the 2:25 long scene, an avalanche occurs that crashes at the camera. It’s during this sequence that Captain America’s star-spangled body can be seen just beneath the ice. Looks like Letterier has won this round, Ms. Hurd.

For those keeping track, this marks three direct references to Captain America in the Marvel Studios film lore thus far. In Iron Man, there’s a brief shot featuring the fabled Avenger’s shield in Tony’s workshop. In Hulk, there are two mentions of Corporal Rogers: the use of "super soldier serum" by Emil Blonksy and, of course, the hero’s newly discovered icy tomb.

If these references are to be taken as canon, then Hulk‘s snowy prologue takes place before the events of Iron Man, since Steve’s shield is buried beneath the ice. That implies that Rogers’ body was discovered at some point between the two films, possibly before Tony Stark is fully immersed as Iron Man. Keeping the two films’ endings in mind, namely Tony’s encounter with Nick Fury and his conversation with General Ross, it’s possible that The Avengers are already in place by the time The Incredible Hulk concludes. Perhaps, then, the superhero team-up feature will take place soon after Hulk’s ending with the Avengers pursuing the Jade Giant.

So, has Marvel tipped its hand and revealed how the cards are falling together on screen, or do we just have too much time on our hands? Tell us what you think below!

Routh to ‘Return’ as Superman?

  • News
  • October 10, 2008

The DC movie goodness keeps rolling in and for the second day in a row, Latino Review is spilling the beans.

At Monday’s Watchmen presentation in New York City, which you can read about here, the Web site’s Kellvin Chavez had the opportunity to speak with DC Comics President Paul Levitz. Over the course of the candid conversation, Levitz revealed something quite interesting about the oft-whispered Superman reboot.

According to the site, Levitz stated: "[Previous Superman] Brandon Routh has come around the offices in New York and Los Angeles as of late to talk about Superman and what we want to do."

This is the highest profile indication that the newest live-action Superman film would include members of the lukewarmly received Superman Returns. Chavez’s report continues to mention that "Mr. Levitz made it seem … that [DC Comics and Warner Bros.] loves Brandon Routh as Clark Kent and that he’s just a great guy." (more…)

‘The Avengers’ get Assembled & Animated

  • News
  • October 8, 2008

avengersearthsmightiestheroes-9318417Marvel Comics sent out a press release this morning announcing that production has begun on a new animated series, The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. 

Film Roman (King of the Hill) has begun working on the 26 30-minute episodes which will air on television in 2011, in the wake of The First Avenger: Captain America and The Avengers live-action films scheduled for that summer. Ciro Nieli will produce the show for the studio.  He’s no stranger to action considering his work on Super Robot Monkey Team Hyper Force Go! and Teen Titans. Christopher Yost will be script editor and his credits include Iron Man Armored Adventures and Fantastic Four: World’s Greatest Heroes.

As a result, there’s little surprise that the line-up resembles the film properties and the very first line-up of the team from 1963: Iron Man, Thor, Ant-Man (called Giant Man in the release but clearyl wearing the cybernetic helmet), Wasp, and Hulk. Captain America joined the team with the fourth issue but will be here from the outset.

"The addition of The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes to our quickly expanding animation slate continues our plan to complement each of our tentpole live action features with an animated series," said Eric Rollman, President of Animation.  "This new ensemble series tracks perfectly with our highly anticipated ‘road to the Avengers’ strategy which includes some of Marvel’s biggest and most beloved characters, and which kicks off with two Avengers’ themed feature films in summer 2011.”

While the super-team has been seen on countless Marvel-related series in the past, this will be the first series they can call their own.  Previously, Lionsgate released two animated direct-to-DVD releases based on The Ultimates although branded as Avengers.

Marvel is making major inroads into animation after years of little production. BET will have the Black Panther in early 2009 while later that year Nicktoons will air Wolverine and the X-Men and Iron Man: Armored Adventures. Also coming is Marvel Super Hero Squad, whatever that is.
 

Marvel Schedules 4 Films for California Studios

  • News
  • October 8, 2008

Iron Man 2, Thor, The First Avenger: Captain America and The Avengers are now scheduled to film at Raleigh Productions in Manhattan Beach, California.

The facility has 14 soundstages and 300,000 square feet of office and support space, making it perfect to mount the four films over the next three years given the shared personnel and even props and cast if all goes as anticipated.

Louis D’Esposito, Marvel’s president of physical production, told Variety that Raleigh had been "incredibly accommodating in terms of financial structures".
 

First Avenger Plot Revealed

  • News
  • October 6, 2008

captain-america-comics-01-8338672The boys over Film School Rejects discovered the plot to The First Avenger: Captain America which was printed in the latest issue of Production Weekly, an industry trade publication.

“Born during the Great Depression, Steve Rogers grew up a frail youth in a poor family. Horrified by the newsreel footage of the Nazis in Europe, Rogers was inspired to enlist in the army. However, because of his frailty and sickness, he was rejected. Overhearing the boy’s earnest plea, General Chester Phillips offered Rogers the opportunity to take part in a special experiment… Operation: Rebirth. After weeks of tests, Rogers was at last administered the ‘Super-Soldier Serum’ and bombarded by ‘vita-rays.’ Steve Rogers emerged from the treatment with a body as perfect as a body can be and still be human. Rogers was then put through an intensive physical and tactical training program. Three months later, he was given his first assignment as Captain America. Armed with his indestructible shield and battle savvy, Captain America has continued his war against evil both as a sentinel of liberty and leader of the Avengers.”

The film is written by Hawk Ostby (Iron Man) and Zak Penn (The Incredible Hulk) clearly inspired by the first Captain America story by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby back in 1940. No director or cast has been announced but Marvel and Paramount Pictures recently reconfirmed that the movie will open May 6th 2011.

 

Iron Man – A Video Game History

  • News
  • September 30, 2008

iron-man-the-video-game-2008-7831621Today, the world will be purchasing the wildly successful Iron Man film on DVD and Blu-ray and to commemorate the event, we’re taking a look at the hero’s history in videogames.  While his feature film debut was acclaimed by comic fans and critics alike, his video game appearances, while many in number, are spotty at best. Let’s take a look at what ol’ shellhead brought to screens before Downey filled his tin boots.

Captain America and the Avengers – 1991 (Arcade, NES), 1992 (Sega Genesis), 1993 (SNES, Sega Game Gear), 1994 (Gameboy)

Tony’s first appearance was in the arcades in 1991 in a side scrolling beat ‘em up adventure.  He may not have gotten top billing, but he along with Hawkeye, Vision and (obviously) Cap roamed the US bashing baddies like the Wizard and Tornado in an effort to defeat the Red Skull.  It was pretty standard fare as far as action games go: just continue to the right of the screen, defeat miscellaneous thugs and continue to the boss characters.  The formula worked for the time (when brawlers like Double Dragon and Streets of Rage were all the…um…rage) but the home console ports didn’t fare as well. The first on Genesis wasn’t able to match the arcades sounds (not that “Avengers Assemble” and “Oh No!” needed to sound better when repeated ad nauseum) and the control was severely lacking. The SNES version a year later was slightly better graphically, but was still a bit maddening in the control department.  Oddly enough, the best version was on the lower powered NES…but that version only let you select Cap and Hawkeye, as the plot was changed slightly to have you rescue Iron Man and Vision from the grips of the Mandarin. Weird.

(more…)

Marvel extends distribution deal with Paramount

  • News
  • September 29, 2008

Though hard to deny the colossal success of The Dark Knight, it can’t be said that Marvel slept through 2008. Iron Man was the second highest grossing film of the year, taking in $318 million domestically and $571 million worldwide. It wasn’t long after the appropriately Stark-sized success that Marvel Studios announced official development on further film projects. Today, it was announced that Shakespearean director Kenneth Branagh is in talks to direct Marvel’s Thor. Now, only hours later, Marvel has yet another big announcement.

Marvel Studios has extended their distribution pact with Paramount Pictures. Paramount will distribute Marvel’s next five films. These films include Iron Man 2 (May 7, 2010), Thor (July 16, 2010), The First Avenger: Captain America (May 6, 2011) and The Avengers (July 15, 2011). The deal also covers Iron Man 3, which was always an assumed project but is now officially in the woodwork.

The agreement includes theatrical distribution in foreign countries previously uncovered by Paramount. Such territories include Japan, Germany, France, Spain and Australia/New Zealand. Due to a prior arrangement, Iron Man 2 will be distributed in Germany by Telemunchen.

"Coming off of Iron Man’s incredible success this summer, we could not be more excited about extending our relationship with Marvel," Paramount vice chairman Rob Moore said of the new deal. "Marvel’s iconic brand, its popular characters and its proven ability to create compelling and visually spellbinding films complement Paramount’s great history of filmmaking."

Iron Man 2 reunites the creative powerhouse of director Jon Favreau and star Robert Downey Jr. Terence Howard and Gwyneth Paltrow are expeced back and director Favreau has been meeting with Iron Man scribe Matt Fraction top kick around story ideas although the War Machine armor is expected to debut.

Thor, set for release two months after Iron Man 2, was written by I am Legend screenwriter Mark Protosevich. Actor/director Kenneth Branagh is attached to direct.

The First Avenger: Captain America comes from a screenplay by Zak Penn, and is rumored to be a World War II-era period piece. No casting announcements have been made regarding Steve Rogers, but rumors have ranged from Leonardo DiCaprio to Will Smith.

These properties will culminate in 2011’s The Avengers, Marvel Studios’ big team-up epic. Captain America, Iron Man and Thor are set to headline with their respective actors in place. The films leading up to the project will feature interweaving cameos from other Marvel characters, such as Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury appearing after the credits in Iron Man and Robert Downey Jr. at the end of The Incredible Hulk.

Assuming that the remainder of Marvel’s current slate succeeds on the same scale as ol’ Shellhead’s cinema outing, this could be the start of a very long, beautiful relationship between Marvel Studios and Paramount Pictures.

‘Secret Invasion’ So Far: The Tie-Ins

  • News
  • September 24, 2008

If you read Part 1 of my report on "Secret Invasion so far", you know I have found a lot of faults with the main series of this Marvel crossover and the tie-ins written by Brian Michael Bendis.

Now, any major crossover these days has tie-ins with other titles. It’s a good marketing idea because it gets readers to check out characters and books they may not have already been reading. And it helps give the story an epic feel when you can show how its effects are felt in various other parts of the Marvel Universe and how other folks are forced to get dragged into it.

A lot of times, these tie-ins are unnecessary and fairly forgettable unless you were already a fan of those books. Imagine my surprise when I found that a lot of these tie-ins were actually enjoyable and greatly enhanced the crossover for me. Frankly, I think some of these tie-ins could have replaced a few issues of the main series.

Let’s go into a bit more detail, shall we? (more…)

Categories

Archives

Everything you need to make great comics!

comicmix-pro-300x69-2

Nucleus X

Bookshop Zaks